<p>At first I thought I would love to do civil engineering, but knowing that construction work is very slim out here in Chicago I'm looking at EE, Comp Eng, or Mechanical. I worked for the past 6 years as a construction worker making great money and was still undecided as to what I wanted to do in life. Now that I've been laid off for a year and I'm 25, I've decided to go back to school. I also got married last year and we are now expect a baby in the next month. Sorry about the life story, but I just want REAL advice here. I just want to buckle down and get my degree and will work my arse off for the next 3-4 years. I just started my chem class and pre-calc, but for some reason I'm having trouble with the whole unit conversions/dimensional analysis stuff, although it is only the 4th day of class and i haven't had chem since 2002, so I would say I'm pretty rusty. But anyways what would be some advice some engineers can give me to what type of engineering to pursue? I'm planning on transferring to UIC in the spring of 2013 since I'm going to get my 3 calculus classes and differential equations done at the junior college in order to transfer. Also any basic advice for prospective engineering students or tips would help... Look forward to seeing the answers here</p>
<p>Hey, my life story is along those lines and I am back in school as well. I was married and in the navy, got out and worked for 2.5 years then decided to back to school. I had a kid in my second semester at CC, and that was a year and a half ago. I am now a student at WMU majoring in chemical engineering. I can’t say which field may suit you best as I am not done with my undergrad degree and no job experience in any engineering field for that matter. But what helped me decide was the fondness I had for chemistry after I took my first class at a CC. I knew I liked math (started in algebra I, now in calc 3) and I took a gen physics course which I also liked, so I knew I would like to combine these together in some way. That’s when I delved into the thought of becoming a chemical engineer. I guess you would have to consider the current economic situation, especially those engineering disciplines which rely heavily on industries which are becoming outsourced or in low demand (i.e, automotive). I feel like I have a decent plan as I aim to work in the pharmaceutical industry when I am finished. I guess if you know which field will give you the best stability and you are interested in it, then go for that. Sorry about not having the experience you were looking for though!</p>
<p>CompE would be the most interesting in my opinion. Then again, I’m a CS major.</p>
<p>You can work with hardware and software when you graduate. There are many software jobs out there. There are less hardware jobs, but those usually pay more.</p>
<p>Also, I would say take some summer classes for math that way you could perhaps transfer sooner. I took trig (broken up from precalc alg.) last summer and calc II this summer (should have done even more) and it helped get me on track. I also took Chem II during summer and it wasn’t bad at all. Not sure what physics would be like over the summer. I have physics and some math and other classes this year and I am planning on doing Organic I and Organic II next summer. Although you won’t need the extra chem classes for the fields you are interested in, summer classes help to take a little load off during the regular semesters, especially when you have a family. Good luck in your endeavors.</p>